Tekken 4 Review - Step into the next millenium

Release(s):

March 28, 2002 (Japan)
September 13, 2002 (Europe)
September 23, 2002 (North America)

Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 2
Genre(s): Fighting
Developer(s): Namco
Publisher(s): 

Namco (Worldwide)
Sony Computer Entertainment (Europe)

Player(s): 1-2

Overview

With three games and one non-canonical title under it's belt, Tekken has proven time and time again it can hang with the big boys of the fighting game genre. The true fourth installment was also in the makings and was set to be released in 2001 for arcades... to make way for a new era of fighting in the 21st century. Just how far does it take this re-revolutionary movement with 3D fighters? Let's find out...

Gameplay

Once again the award-winning 3D fighting from previous Tekken games have return so that's good but there are a couple fundamental changes that makes this game stand out. For one you can't jump backwards or vertically... you can only jump forward which isn't a big loss but it's something you'll notice when it's gone. A new grab move which allows you to shift your opponent to a more favorable position and it's done by pressing LP + LK of which the secondary attack grab is supposed to be. A couple other control schemes have been made but the biggest change Tekken 4 makes of the combat system is that for the first time ever, Tekken takes full advantage of the 3D fighting concept by actually having you fight on a 3D plane instead of an illusion of one. You can use the environments to your advantage by slamming your opponents to walls or trapping them into stage obstacles on uneven terrain stages forcing a slower and more strategic approach to combat. Now, I understand why Namco would make such changes and a couple of these concepts are quite good but at the same time they are alienating to long-time fans.

The new fighting styles are also a mixed bag. For example, Jin Kazama no longer fights with a mix of the Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts and Mishima-ryu in favor of traditional karate which makes him his own character now but he is really OP in the game notably due to his Laser Scraper move. Tekken 4 brings in new characters with completely unique movesets like the Vale Tudo fighter Craig Marduk who uses a grappler style not quite like no other (especially with his tackle) but his moveset just feels... incomplete. Though on the positive there's also the british boxer Steve Fox who, instead of using his additional punch attacks for his kick buttons like most fighting games would for boxing character, uses he left and right sway dodges for the LK and RK buttons which makes him an especially fun character to master. Lastely there's Combot... an ever-so-pointless replacement for Mokujin who instead of switching to a different character's fighting style each round he does it after an entire match. 

Content

All the game modes from Tekken 3 have returned for Tekken 4 but one in new game mode this game introduces which also becomes a staple in the Tekken series from then on is Story Battle. Story Battle is just like Arcade (Arcade Battle) only it actually goes out of it's way to tell the story of Tekken (which honestly makes Arcade rather redundant). You will fight 6 randomized characters then a possibly character-specific sub-boss and Heihachi Mishima as the final boss... though some character's stories may play out differently and will unlock a specific character (if they aren't already). Another player can't attempt to challenge you so they can take over like Arcade Battle.

The Tekken Force mode in Tekken 4 has received something of an upgrade from Tekken 3 as it takes full advantage of the whole interactive environment mechanics within the game's combat. You can also lock-on manually to an enemy instead of automatically locking onto the closest enemy and losing no longer means a game over (though you lose your total score from previous stages... not that it means much in the end) but the actual difficulty has increase with enemies potentially attacking you at every corner even during his boss fights. Speaking of boss fights... they are no longer character-specific... every character in the end of each stage will face Combot, Kuma/Panda, Kazuya, then Heihachi. 

Aside from that stuff there's a mode called Training which determines how fast you can input each character's bread-and-butter moves, and you can record a battle by pressing the select button at the end of the match and it can be viewed within the Theater mode. You can now pause in Time Attack mode and Survival mode.

Graphics

At a glance there's not much of a difference graphically between the Playstation 2 port of Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken 4 but Tekken Tag was already a great-looking so it's not really to be taken as an insult. I suppose Tekken 4 looks sharper is especially evident with the stages naturally as they're now part of the gameplay experience and there's no sign of slowdown like what happens with Tekken Tag sometimes. There are no longer any character-specific stages however...

Sound

Almost all of the voice actors/actress have once again reprise their roles for Tekken 4 and they sound better than ever before. What's even cooler is that for the first time ever in a Tekken game the characters finally have actual dialogue instead of just making battle grunts and occasional laughs. Some voices are questionable like Marduk's battle grunts which are like weird animal growls but overall they do a good job. The soundtrack for this game also shows quite a drastic change in style to reflect with the changing with the times. The synthesized music is now largely downplayed in favor of a techno/rock mix and there are no character-specific themes for the stages. The soundtrack also isn't remixed for the console port like previous games but that aside... the soundtrack is still head-bobbingly good nonetheless. 

Aesthetics 

Like I said earlier Tekken 4 actually goes out of it's way to tell the story through the Story Battle mode including text-based prologues and epilogues so you aren't just left guessing what happens. Each character still has their ideal endings after completing Story Battle but also like I said earlier this game features dialogue and the endings themselves have much more relevance to the main story so most of them actually feel like they're telling a legit story instead of basically being slideshows. As for the story itself... Kazuya Mishima has mysteriously came back from the deadwhich is bullshit thanks to G Corporation and is out for revenge against Heihachi for foiling his plans while Jin Kazama, who now has a deep hatred for anything related to the Mishima bloodline after Heihachi's betrayal (including his lineage, his fighting style, and the Devil Gene within him), is out for the same thing so Heihachi had announced the 4th Iron Fist Tournament to lure both of them out so he can claim the Devil Gene for himself. There are some other cool twists to the story as well like the once respected and feared Vale Tudo fighter Craig Marduk being responsible for the death of Armor King (King's mentor) which lead to him getting an invitation to the Iron Fist Tournament despite being charged with manslaughter, Steve Fox trying to discover his real parents while ducking the Mafia (whom may not be quite what they seem), and Ling Xiayou getting involved in the complicated history of the Mishamas to reunited with her schoolmate Jin and discover the truth to Heihachi's intentions.

The game's interface is significantly improved from previous games like each game mode in the main menu given a description and a mini screenshot to give you an idea of what it's about, and the screen transitions have actual flare to them rather than them simply going to the next screen. This is also a clear move to the next millennium.

Another thing I must add is that the character also speak their native language (like the Mishimas and Jin speaking Japanese, Hwoarang speaking Korean, etc.)... though some characters (like the replacement Capoeira fighter Christie Monteiro and Nina Williams) who are foreign don't even have a discernible accent when they should... but that's no big deal.

Overall

What can I say about Tekken 4? It's a black sheep alright and it's a damn good one at that! It may not be the best in terms of gameplay (even though it has some REALLY good and even revolutionary ideas) but you can't deny it's done a lot of good in terms of aesthetics and content.

Overall I give this game an 8.6 out of 10.

Tekken 3 Review - A Year Later... A Few Months After

Release(s):

March 26, 1998 (Japan)
April 29, 1998 (North America)
September 12, 1996 (Europe)

Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 
Genre(s): Fighting
Developer(s): Namco
Publisher(s): 

Namco (Worldwide)
Sony Computer Entertainment (Europe)

Player(s): 1-2

Overview

As I've said in my review of Tekken 2, that game turned out to be an even bigger critical and commercial success than it's predecessor. Not only did the Playstation port sell over twice the amount that the first game did, Tekken 2 was given several accolades from major video game journalists as among the best video game ever and was the #1 most-played arcade game for several months straight (considering how big arcades were at the time, this was saying a lot). This officially established Tekken as a household name among other big-name fighters such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. The most logical step for Namco to take would be another sequel leaving players waiting as they shit their pants in anticipation for how far Namco can take their new hit series.

Gameplay

Once again Tekken 3 returns with the award-winning 3D combat system from the first games and just when people thought Namco couldn't take things even further, they did. One thing is that the sidestepping mechanic has been fully implemented for every character and they also have several moves that are tied to it including a powerful, inescapable throw from either the opponent's left or right just you can do from their backs. Characters now jump at realistic heights rather than 30 feet like they do in the first two games making aerial more easily controllable. Recovery time when down is now instantaneous keeping the flow of combat constant. The controls are even more tight and fluid, there's more ways counter, and there's even more diverse fighting styles.

Speaking of styles.... most characters from the first two games have been removed so defamiliarization of those games is a must for this game especially since while several characters may share likeness to the one they've replaced notably Jin Kazama (the bastard son of Kazuya Mishima and Jun Kazama), who is like mixed pot between the Advanced Mishima Style Karate and Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts, they have enough of their own moves to set them apart.

The AI has been toned down considerably from the first two games now providing a reasonable challenge for newcomers and there is no instances of cheap difficulty 
spikes... well, it actually does get harder as you go along but it never feels overwhelming. One could argue Namco may have made it too easy but in any case, it's at least much more adjustable.

Content

All of the game modes from Tekken 2 have returned but the Arcade Mode has a different method for unlocking characters. Instead of playing through it with a specific starting character to unlock a specific hidden character, it's now determined by how many characters you've completed Arcade Mode with and the last character you will unlock is the of course, the final boss... Ogre and then it's transformed state True Ogre. The options for Practice Mode was been extending massively from the last game.

Everything you can do in Practice Mode from Tekken 2 is here but you can make the computer dummy perform various actions such as crouch, guard in standing and/or crouching positions, perform a quick roll while laying on the floor, or even have another player take control. You can also have the computer act as a fighting opponent of varying difficulty (deja vu) and all these are sectioned to three modes called "1P Freestyle" where you can basically do whatever (evident from the title), "VS CPU" where you fight the dummy as if it were an opponent, and "Combo Training" where the game helps you perform more complicated combos. There's a few options encompass the whole Practice Mode such as the "Hit Analysis" which makes the characters green but blinks red whenever they are completely vulnerable and the "Attack Data" like in Tekken 2 only in 3 you can see the total amount of damage both characters have dealt to each other throughout the whole session. Unfortunately, the replay feature is just as unreliable as in Tekken 2 but at least now the game doesn't boot you back to the main menu for keeping it idle.

Tekken 3 introduces a mini-game called Tekken Force Mode of which you select a character and fight your way through a bunch of generic mooks beat 'em up style but with Tekken controls. There's a total of four stages each one ending with a boss depending on the character till the last stage where you fight Heihachi Mishima (except Mokujin). This mode is hella fun and if you manage to beat it three times you will get a chance to fight Doctor Bosconovitch then unlocking him if you win but be careful, because if you lose then it's gameover. You can also gain points based on well you do but they're completely inconsequential.

There's also another a mini-game called Tekken Ball Mode only this is unlocked through completing Arcade Mode with all the starting characters. In this mode you select a character then play against another player or the computer in a game of volleyball but with Tekken controls as well and your goal is to dwindle down your opponent's health by either sending the ball to their side of the court or hitting them with the ball directly. You have the choice of three beach balls (two of which are unlockable)... a beginner ball which can do up to 40% damage, an expert ball which can do up to 60% damage, and a grand master ball which can do maximum damage... the amount of damage that the ball can do is represent through a parameter that builds up from landing successive hits. This only works for certain attacks, however... surprisingly this mode works as well.

For the first time in non-Japanese versions, a mode called Theater Mode will also appear after you've completed Arcade Mode with all the starting characters. Here you watch opening sequences for the game and the endings for the characters you've completed Arcade mode with. If you get all of them, you gain the option to listen to the game's soundtrack (both arcade and remixed) in the music section or load the endings/music of the first two games in the disc section.

Graphics

The graphics just keep getting better and better. The character models and animation are significantly detailed than they were in the first two games plus the backgrounds don't clash so much with them along with the environments like they used to. Unfortunately, there isn't nearly as many unique stages for each character as there are in Tekken 2. With the exception of Heihachi, Ogre, Bosconovitch, and Gon (who is unlocked through Tekken Ball Mode after beating him) all the hidden characters have stages shared with the starting characters.

Sound

The voice work has been given a major overhaul from the first two games with several familiar voices thrown into the mix notably the late Daisuke Gōri as Heihachi Mishima (who voices him from the anime adaptation to Tekken 6 before his passing, rest in peace... champ). They still only make battle grunts (with a few exceptions) but at least now they doesn't awkward as they did previously. The soundtrack however doesn't hold a candle to the one in Tekken 2 but it's still got the great classic arcade synthesized feel to it.... though personally I prefer the arcade tracks over the rearranged tracks here for the most parts.

Aesthetics

The lore behind Tekken 3 isn't as strong as the one in Tekken 2 either but there's still plenty of interest within it. 19 years have past since the 2nd Iron Fist Tournament and Heihachi had reclaimed his throne from his (literally) demonic son Kazuya, who he threw into an erupting volcano (no way that sucker's making it out ali... shit), but something strange has happened. Many of the world's greatest fighters are gone with most of the absences being linked to the ancient being from Mexico named Ogre, who robs fighters of their abilities by attacking them, and Heihachi announces the 3rd Iron Fist Iron Fist Tournament to lore him out (best expect there'd be an ulterior motive behind it). Some of the fighters from the previous tournament have returned (like Nina Willaims who was cryogenically frozen for 19 years and is in search for her lost memories) but a bunch of new faces like the young and innocent Ling Xiaoyu who wants to build the perfect amusement park in China, the loner Jin Kazama who takes over as the main protagonist and wants to get revenge against Ogre for presumably killing his mother, the street punk Hwoarang who wants to settle the score with Jin, and the Brazillian button-mashing capoeira fighter Eddy Gordo who wants to piece together the murder of his father and seek retribution.

Just like the first two games the fighting styles for each character in Tekken 3 is based off real-life fighting styles so real-life martial artists would certainly appreciate the attention to detail. For authenticity sake, Eddy Gordo's animation is notably done using motion capture from a real-life capoeira fighter.

Overall 

While Tekken 3 may not be as aesthetically pleasing as Tekken 2 it's still a substantial improvement where it comes over an already amazing game. Many say this is the pinnacle of the series (it even did the best both commercial and critically) and I can definitely why. The combat is done to near-perfection but even if you're not a huge fighting game nut there's still plenty of other shit to do and it gets just about every single aspect.

Overall, I gave this game a 9.8/10.

Tekken Review - Enter the Tekken!!

Release(s):

March 31, 1995 (Japan)
November 7, 1995 (Europe)
November 8, 1995 (North America)

Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 
Genre(s): Fighting
Developer(s): Namco
Publisher(s): 

Namco (Worldwide)
Sony Computer Entertainment (Europe)

Player(s): 1-2

Overview

For those who don't know I love Tekken... in fact, it's my favorite fighting game franchise of all-time and in anticipation of Tekken 7: Fated Retribution coming on home consoles/PC, I've decided to look back on the whole series beginning with the very game that started it all.

In the 90's, arcades were sweeping the nation with fighting games being one of the most predominant genres. 3D graphics were also starting to emerge at that point so naturally fighting games followed suite and while Virtua Fighter was the one that pioneered 3D fighting games, Tekken was certain the one that put it on the map. The one thing that really matters here is does the first game still hold up in spite of it's legacy.



Gameplay

Tekken plays similar to any other traditional fighting game. You have your crouches and jumps (which are done at ridiculous heights in the game for some reason), high/low blocking zones, and intricate button inputs for special moves but there quite a few diversions as well. One is instead of having your basic attacks determined by strength of the attack your attack buttons in Tekken are assigned to each limb allowing for greater combo intuition. Another is there's no special gauge meter of any sort so any super powerful attack can be pulled off at any time but there is no projectiles in Tekken which limits your ability of keeping opponents at bay. Lastly, there's a lot of combo moves and strings to memorize for each character which you would need to know in order to make the most of the game's combat... in fact, the series as a whole is very well known for it's huge library of complex button combinations notably the chain throws and 10-hit combos making it an extremely hard (yet satisfying) fighter to truly master (which is made even harder with no command list to look at) but there aren't as many to master with the first game as later on (naturally). Special moves are also done differently from tradition. In Street Fighter, the inputs for special moves reward accuracy and speed but in Tekken, it slows down the action for greater strategic play.

However, there are a few notable problems with the combat. For one the controls feel somewhat heavy especially when you're trying to run towards the opponent (run is useless btw) and another is the hidden characters play too similar to the starting characters. Granted the starting characters themselves are completely diverse and the Playstation version does remedy this issue by giving them some individual moves from Tekken 2 but this point still stands. You can say I'm spoiled by the later games which refined the formula but age certainly revealed a few flaws with this one in the gameplay department.

Content

This is a mid 90's fighting game so don't expect much in terms of game modes. You have an arcade mode where you select a character and fight 7 of the starting characters plus a sub-boss (who is one of the hidden characters) and the final boss who is the root of all evil, Heihachi Mishima. Another player can intercept at any point to take over and you can earn a new record based on how fast you complete it along with being treated with a character's ideal ending (starting characters only). Arcade mode is also where you unlock the hidden characters although the one you unlock depends on which character you complete it with except for the big bad Heihachi Mishima who is unlocked by playing through Arcade mode without any continues and Devil Kazuya who is unlocked by beating all 4 levels of the Galaga game which happens before the actual game boots up... but is it worth it?

There's also a 2 player mode which is the standard versus mode where you play against another player. You both select a character and set each other's handicaps before fighting on a random stage.

Graphics

Tekken is one of the first 3D fighting games and it really shows. The character models are very blocky and pixelated with the floor being done on 3D while the rest of the environments are clearly done with static 2D images giving it a rather ugly look even for it's time. However, it's not all bad... the characters are animated realistically in a way that makes you feel the attacks being landed and they all have animation that's actually representative to their unique fighting styles. The environments are also familiar as they're based on real-life locations... but you don't really get to choose any of them.

Sound

Aside from the (kickass) announcer, there isn't much voice acting in Tekken aside from the battle grunts characters make and I can't really knock that either (except a few voice clips are just plain bizarre notably with Marshall Law) but one thing that to complain about is that aside from Wang Jineri, all of the hidden characters' voice clips are blatantly recycled from the starting characters. The sound effects is great stuff though as it helps make you feel the pain of the attacks and the soundtrack is great stuff which can be said for the whole series... even though the music for this game is rather subdue in comparison, there's a lot of memorial tracks especially for those who enjoy 90's synthesized arcade music and they're quite fitting to the environments they represent.

Aesthetics

Even though there's technically no story mode in Tekken, the story it has is surprisingly involved for a fighting game. You have the basic international fighting tournament plot but Tekken has characters all with their own reasons for participating that you would actually care about. Kazuya MIshima wants revenge against his father Heihachi, Yoshimitsu wants to provide for the poor, Nina Williams sent to assassinate Heihachi Mishima, and Paul Phoenix wants to prove he's the strongest. Of course, you won't get all the details in-game but you'll get a gist of it from the endings... that is if the uncanny FMV facial animations don't haunt your dreams first.

Just like I said earlier the environments in Tekken are based on real-life ones and the same be applied to each character's fighting styles. Unlike something like Street Fighter which does base each character's fighting style on real-life martial arts but makes it super flashy and sorta does it's own, you'd notice the parallelism to real-life martial arts with Tekken almost instantly even if it's still exaggerated due to almost all of the characters actually being superhuman.

Overall

With all this does Tekken hold up by today's standards? No really... don't get me wrong, I won't deny Tekken is a very revolutionary and innovative game... in fact, it was noted as the "First Fighting Game to Feature Simulated 3D" but there's practically no reason to go back to this game after playing the others unless it's for nostalgia.

Overall, I give this game a 7 out of 10.